Charms and Curses

In my enthusiasm and recent burst of inspiration for this fic, I have been neglecting my Sailor Moon fic... Please forgive me, but it WILL get updated next week!!

Anyway, more CaC Bill/Fleur goodness! Still not of the fluff-tacular variety, but it will get there, so keep on REVIEWING!!

Yes, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!

Feedback is really good and appreciated. I've become quite attached to this fic, so I would like to know if y'all like it, too!

Anyway, as always, disclaimers apply. We all know by now that I own nothing but a rather unbalanced and unstable mind ~.^...so don't sue.

As always, a big bouquet of roses, a pound of Belgian chocolates, and all similar good things in life to my excellent beta, Chained Dove!

REVIEW! I repeat, REVIEW!!!

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Walk, walk, walk. Surreptitiously glance at each other when the other is not looking. Walk, walk, walk some more. Thus, they continued, and the journey through the desert seemed to stretch out forever. Finally, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, they reached a wizarding town about three hours away from Alexandria, and stopped to take a rest.

Before, when they would stop at town to rest, they would be chatting amiably the entire time, discussing what they'd found out about the mission, or whatever else they felt like talking about, but today, both of them were silent. Instead of getting a table together, as they were wont to do for meals, they sat down at opposite ends of a bar.

A disheartened Fleur plopped herself down on a barstool and ordered a cup of vegetable soup. Despite having had a long walk, she found that she had no appetite. But no, she had to eat. Without food, she would have no energy to continue on their mission. So, with a steely look of determination in her eyes, she downed her soup, and focused on her surroundings. If she was to break Bill's heart, and her own in the process, the least she could do was to make sure that she would do anything in her power to help him in the mission, so that he would succeed and survive, and return to his family in one piece, complete and whole.

Suddenly, her ears perked up, and she focused her attention on a man of about 40 sitting about two seats away from her. He was mumbling about ancient Egyptian spells to himself and drinking what looked like a very alcoholic drink. Fleur smiled to herself, and gracefully rose from her seat. Good.

"Excuze me, may I sit 'ere?" she said in her sweetest voice. The wizard glanced up and gave a very appreciative smile, and nodded.

"Sank you. 'Ow are you today?" Fleur asked him cordially.

"Well, this day just seems to be getting better and better. May I ask what your name is, my beauty?"

Forcing a smile on her face, she answered, "Fleur."

"Fleur..." he drew out every letter in her name as if savoring them, "A flower. Quite fitting. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kyle Harden. It is a PLEASURE." Grabbing her hand and smothering it with wet kisses that stunk of alcohol. Fleur swallowed her revulsion and asked, as soon as she pulled her hand away and discreetly wiped it on her muggle jeans.

"So, where are you from, and where are you going, Monsieur 'Arden?"

"Oh, I'm from Alexandria. Lived there all my life...." Fleur's eyes widened, and she listened closely to the man as he regaled her with information about Alexandria.

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Meanwhile, Bill, sitting a few seats away, was seething. What was that woman DOING?! That... that lecher was practically boring a hole in the bodice of her blouse with his eyes! If he could get any MORE perverted in his scrutiny of Fleur's person... she must have noticed, but she was laughing with him, going so far as to order drinks for both of them, taking a dainty little sip of hers as the lascivious sod drained his. Ever the princess. Ever the... the one who was gaily laughing at something the other man had said. His disgust and anger grew as Fleur coquettishly tossed her head, revealing an elegantly bared neck and flipping that mane of lustrous blonde hair. Bill could almost sense the man drooling, and he could feel his blood begin to boil.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to look away, and tried to block out the sound of her melodious laughter.

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"So, you say zat ze 'istorical wizarding area of Alexandria is guarded by a sphinx?" Fleur was asking the man. By then, she had purchased him two more drinks, and two for herself that he had downed as well.

"Yes, she clever too. FOUR riddles! An' none of 'em ever th' same ones." The man was starting to get drunk, and his tongue was loosened. Fleur, meanwhile, was quickly but surreptitiously copying down what he was telling her.

"Oh, zat sounds vairy interesting." Fleur looked down at the parchment in her hands, covered with notes. "Well, I must be leaving now, it was nice to meet you, Monsieur 'Arden!" She got up to leave.

"Now hold on just a second! You can't go!" The man exclaimed. Fleur narrowed her eyes a fraction.

"'Oo is zere to say I can't? I can come and leave as I pleaze, now excuze me!" She tried to walk around him, but he had risen and blocked her path. Fleur glanced around the room. Bill was sitting away from them, and he was not looking at them at all. She had a distinct idea that he was sulking.

She sighed and turned her attention back to the man in her way. "I shall repeat myself, I am going to go now, so please step aside." she said in an icy voice. The man sneered.

"No, girlie. I want to play with you a little bit longer." and he shot out a large, filthy hand to touch her hair. And at that moment, Fleur lost her temper. No one, NO ONE was allowed to take such a liberty with her! Her eyes started to burn, and she knew that the pupils were blazing yellow in the center. This should have been a warning to the man that he was dealing with one with veela blood, and caused him to back away, but he was too inebriated to notice or care, and continued to touch her hair.

SLAP!

Fleur felt her hand connect solidly and satisfyingly with his face. It was a very hard blow, and the man, in his state of drunkenness, staggered and fell. With a huff, Fleur stepped over him and stalked away towards Bill.

Bill, who had been valiantly trying to ignore the proceedings in Fleur's direction, spun around when a resounding slap and gasp had reached his ears. He had turned just in time to see that man with whom Fleur had been flirting fall to the ground, and Fleur herself, the epitome of rage, stomping over towards him.

All of the sudden, he found that he had nothing to say to her. This fickle, capricious, troublesome woman who liked to toy with men, lead them on before hurting them. He would not look at her as he abruptly picked up his knapsack and prepared to leave, and so, he did not see how a single teardrop fell onto the sheet of parchment she clutched in her hand, and splatter one of the words into a pool of murky ink.